Free Websites Showcase Your Videos Online
Copyright 2006 Jim Edwards
If you didn't realize that video will take over online this
year, you haven't been paying attention.
Everything from video blogs to full-blown website infomercials
keep cropping up all across the Internet.
The driving force behind this video explosion is a combination
of cheap bandwidth, easy-to-use authoring tools, and Flash video
(a video format that works on both PC and MAC).
With the sudden increase in homemade videos about everything
from "how-to break dance" to infomercials about real estate
products, it seems only natural that another explosion should
follow: the appearance of numerous websites that showcase these
homegrown Steven Spielberg's.
In fact, these online videos have gained so much popularity some
have even crossed over into mainstream television.
Of the three main online video hosting services I looked at,
they all shared the following characteristics.
They all allow you to upload your video and host it free of
charge, making it super easy for even the most technically
challenged videographer.
They all allow visitors to search their sites using keywords, so
describing your video and choosing a good title (with keywords
people search for) will help increase your exposure.
One of the most exciting features common to these sites is that
they allow you and others to get copy-and-paste code that you
can place on a blog or website (or anywhere else you can paste
html code) and display a video without hosting it yourself.
This one feature can cause an explosive "viral" effect if you
create a video that appeals to a mass audience because people
can not only pass it along, but post it in additional locations
for everyone to see.
Video.Google.com - Google's video service makes it possible to
upload and play your videos for people searching through their
growing catalog of homegrown video.
You'll find everything from web-cam karaoke to infomercials and
"live" seminars. One of the best things about Google video is
the daily report about how many pages views your video got
during the previous day or week.
Also, Google allows you to charge for your videos if you want,
something the other sites don't yet offer.
A disadvantage of the service is that, of the three, Google
Video takes the longest to approve your videos and make them
available, sometimes taking 48 hours or longer to make a video
"live."
YouTube.com - YouTube seems to want to foster a feeling of
community with its video portal.
Unlike Google Video, which requires a separate software program
to upload video, YouTube allows users to upload video right
through their website interface. Of the three sites profiled
here, YouTube's embedded player makes it easiest to share and
pass along video from a blog.
They also approved my video and had it live online in less than
10-minutes.
IFilm.com - The coolest thing about IFilm.com is the fact that
they have a show on VH1 every Friday called "Web Junk 20" which
features the funniest web videos of the week on real television.
They also actively promote the concept of "viral videos" with a
separate category in their directory profiling videos you want
to share.
The only negative was that their pass-along player forces
viewers to watch a short ad about IFilm at the beginning,
something the other two don't do.